Tufts/UConn RIDGE Program

Tufts University/University of Connecticut
Research Innovation and Development Grants in
Economics (RIDGE) Program

To address national objectives for improved food security and dietary quality, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) supports useful extramural research in economics aimed at understanding and enhancing the nation’s nutrition assistance programs. Bringing together the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, two institutions with a long record of research leadership in this area, the Tufts/UConn RIDGE Program will:

oversee research grants on both major and smaller nutrition assistance programs,

support a broad community of researchers applying their expertise to nutrition assistance topics,

mentor new investigators in nutrition assistance research,

promote the relevance of extramural research for nutrition assistance policy, and

seek to enhance communication of results through appropriate technology innovations.

Some features include using an online platform to manage the grant submission and review process, a videoconferencing option for an interim grantee meeting, incorporating short video presentations into the design of grant deliverables, a mixed in-person/remote design for the RIDGE Outcomes Conference in Washington, DC, and web-based dissemination of results. The Tufts/UConn RIDGE Program will build on our team’s detailed knowledge of U.S. nutrition assistance policy and a long-term career commitment to the field of nutrition assistance research. The project team includes RIDGE Directors and a National Advisory Board.

Please share this with your colleagues with interests in nutrition assistance research. We will provide resources for potential grant applicants. A request for proposals (RFP) was released on January 23, 2017.

Acknowledgement: RIDGE is made possible by support from USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and Economic Research Service (ERS). The views expressed in our research are those of the investigators and cannot be attributed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, FNS, or ERS.